April 3 (Bloomberg) -- BTC China and OKCoin, two of China’s
largest Bitcoin exchanges, suspended some money transfer
services, after it was reported that the central bank tightened
controls on the digital currency.

BTC China said that services with Yijingdong had been
suspended “because of reasons to do with” the payment
provider, according to a statement on its official microblog
yesterday. OKCoin said third-party payment companies have also
suspended services to its clients.

Bitcoin prices plunged almost 10 percent on March 27 after
Caixin reported that the People’s Bank of China ordered banks
and payment companies to close the trading accounts of more than
10 exchanges. The deadline was April 15, according to the
report, which cited a notice sent to banks and third-party
payment companies.

“We have prepared an emergency plan ahead of the April 15
deadline and will launch an overseas version soon,” said
OKCoin, which described itself as the biggest virtual currency
trading center in China. “Please don’t doubt us.”

The price of Bitcoin, which exists as software and isn’t
controlled by any country or banking authority, fell to 2,525
yuan ($407) on BTC China as of 5:28 p.m., from a 24-hour high of
2,710 yuan.

Halt Payment

Customers of Bitcoin exchanges pay for the currency through
accounts with service providers similar to EBay Inc.’s PayPal.

Transferring money into trading accounts, known as
charging, through banks and using BTC China’s vouchers haven’t
been affected, it said in its statement.

“We aren’t the first exchange to halt charging and we
won’t be the last,” OKCoin said on its microblog today. “We
haven’t received any notices from banks but we’re not ruling out
the possibility.”

BTC38.com and FXBTC, two other Bitcoin platforms, also made
announcements since yesterday about halts to charging services.

PBOC has sought to limit dealings in Bitcoin that may be
used to launder money or evade capital controls, issuing a
notice on Dec. 5 barring financial institutions and payment
companies from buying and selling Bitcoin or dealing in linked
products. In a March 21 statement on its microblog, the PBOC
denied unspecified media reports that it had banned Bitcoin
trading.

Bitcoin has been hard hit since Tokyo-based exchange Mt.
Gox, once the world’s largest, halted withdrawals on Feb. 7,
sending prices tumbling more than 8 percent. The exchange filed
for bankruptcy weeks later after about $470 million in Bitcoins
belonging to its customers and the firm disappeared from its
registries. Prices dived by about 36 percent from their intraday
high immediately after the PBOC notice on Dec. 5.